Method of applying hair

ABSTRACT

HAIR IS APPLIED TO A SCALP AREA SUBSTANTIALLY DEVOID OF HAIR BY SURGICALLY EMBEDDING IN THE SKIN OF THE SCALP A PLURALITY OF ANCHOR POINTS ADJACENT THE MARGIN OF THE BALD AREA AND THEREAFTER COVERING THE AREA WITH AN OPEN-MESH GRIDWORK SECURED TO THE ANCHOR POINTS, THE GRIDWORK SERVING AS A BASE TO WHICH HAIR IS ATTACHED IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT SUBSTANTIALLY TO CONCEAL THE SUBJACENT SCALP AREA.

Jan. 12, 1971 J. BAUMAN METHOD OF APPLYING HAIR Filed April 7, 1969 AWE/v70? Jkcz (Fm/MAN ITTOPA/i 15 United States Patent Office 3,553,737 Patented Jan. 12, 1971 3,553,737 METHOD OF APPLYING HAIR Jack Bauman, 3965 J St., Sacramento, Calif. 95819 Filed Apr. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 813,991 Int. Cl. A61b 17/00; A61f 1/00; A41g /00 US. Cl. 3--1 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Hair is applied to a scalp area substantially devoid of hair by surgically embedding in the skin of the scalp a plurality of anchor points adjacent the margin of the bald area and thereafter covering the area with an open-mesh gridwork secured to the anchor points, the gridwork serving as a base to which hair is attached in an amount sufii cient substantially to conceal the subjacent scalp area.

The invention relates to improvements in covering bald spots with human hair.

One of the more effective, albeit expensive, processes hitherto used to cover a bald area of a persons scalp has comprised the steps of weaving a network of threads over the area, using adjacent strands of the wearers remaining hair as anchors for the net. To the net so formed there is attached, as by sewing, a plurality of flag-shaped tufts or small switches of hair, thereby serving to conceal the bald area.

A major difiiculty with the just described process has been its inability to cover portions of the scalp remote from any remaining hair strands and, a fortiori, its total inadequacy where the entire scalp is devoid of hair. Furthermore, even under the best of circumstances, the hairpiece must be periodically re-adjusted and re-attached as the wearers hair grows out to a length such that the hairpiece anchored to the hair strands is no longer taut. The periodic adjustment is not only time consuming, but costly.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a method of permanently applying hair to one or more areas of a persons scalp for the purpose of concealing the area because of baldness.

It is another object of the invention to provide a process of applying hairto a selected area of a persons scalp which does not depend upon the presence of remaining hair adjacent the area to be covered.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a method of applying hair to any desired location on a persons skin, for example, to a bald spot on the scalp.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of permanently applying hair to the scalp which obviates the necessity of periodically detaching and repositioning the hair.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a method of applying hair resulting in an installation which is not only secure and comfortable but also attractive.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a hair installation which not only closely resembles the wearers own hair in appearance but which can also be treated in a similar fashion in that it can be shampooed, brushed, combed, styled and the like while remaining permanently aflixed to the scalp.

It is another object of the invention to provide a hair installation which, on a long term basis, is relatively inexpensive.

'It is an additional object of the invention to provide a generally improved method of applying hair.

Other objects, together with the foregoing are attained in the exercise of the method described in the following description and resulting in the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a persons head, showing the crown portion of the scalp devoid of hair, and illustrating the attachment of a ring of anchor points formed by sutures;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, to an enlarged scale, of a portion of the suture ring, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the installation showing the woven gridwork, or web, anchored to the suture ring, prior to commencing, the attachment of the plurality of tufts of hair;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of a typical tuft, or flag, of hair; and,

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing the appearance of the installation with a majority of the tufts attached to' the grid.

While the method of the invention can be practiced in numerous different ways, depending upon the environment and requirements of use, the process as described herein has been repeatedly used with eminently successful results.

For purposes of illustration the person depicted in the accompanying drawings is of the male sex. It is to be noted, however, that the process of the invention can with equal utility be applied to women.

In the case of the person shown herein, an extensive area 12 of the central portion of the scalp is devoid of hair although a vigorous fringe remains in the vicinity of the temples 13, cars 14 and nape of the neck 16.

At the first meeting with the operator who will supervise the restoration to or recreation of a simulacrum of the patrons original hair pattern, a determination will be made as to the extent and kind of hair covering to be applied.

Guided, perhaps, by earlier photographs of the patron, or by personal preference of the patron for a particular hair style, the operator will delineate on the scalp the area 16 to be treated. In the case here shown, the outline 17 of the area decided upon is approximately oval, with the narrow end extending forwardly into the general region of the forehead (see FIG. 3).

Preferably, the delineation closely follows the fringe line 18, and in many instances would encroach within the fringe line so that the patrons natural hair will commingle with the applied hair along the common border. In the interests of clarity, however, the delineator 17 in the figures herein is shown as being substantially coincident with the fringe line 18.

After delineation is effected, the services of a medical doctor are called upon to embed in the scalp 19 an anchor member 20 formed by a continuous suture starting, for example, at the location 21 (see FIG. 3) and proceeding around the ring along the delineator 17 in the direction of the arrows until the starting point 21 is reached, the two ends of the suture cord anchor 20 being there tied.

The cord can be of any suitable inert or tissue-compatible variety, exemplary being a braided stainless steel wire core coated with Teflon.

As will be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the anchoring suture 20 is of the in-and-out type wherein the path of the suture alternates between a portion embedded relatively deeply in the skin 25 of the scalp 19 and an exterior portion in touching relation with the surface of the skin. The

suture preferably extends through all layers of skin 25 and approaches the surface of the skull 30.

The step of embedding the suture so as to aiford a plu rality of exterior anchor members, or anchor points, is, as previously stated, within the purview of a physician who will employ the customary surgical techniques including 3 Washing and applying an antiseptic solution to the scalp, using a local anesthetic and maintaining aseptic conditions during the suturing step.

After the anchor points 20 are established by the physician, the next step, namely covering the delineated area with a gridwork 31, or web, peripherally fastened to the anchor points, can immediately be commenced, if so desired.

The weaving of the web 31 is, in most instances, performed manually, the weaver using a light yet tough thread 32, of Dacron for example. The first course is around the delineator 17, the thread being secured to each of the suture anchor points 20.

; Thereafter, as appears most clearly in FIG. 3, the weaver introduces row after row of longitudinal courses 33 and transverse thread courses, 34, each being interlooped and forming an open mesh approximately one centimeter on each side.

At the conclusion of the Weaving step, the operator is able to commence the installation of the hair. In this connection, the skill of the operator is of especial importance since the selection of the most suitable kind, color and texture of hair is largely determinative of the ultimate result.

The market place affords numerous kinds of hair switches or parcels or tufts or flags, as they are variously and interchangeably known. A satisfactory form is that shown in FIG. 4 and designated by the numeral 40 wherein a triple-strand braid 41 of strong threads of any desired length has mounted thereon numerous strands of hair 42.

Depending upon the elfect to be achieved, the operator, or operators helper will cut the tufts 40 into lengths sufficient to extend the full length of corresponding ones of each of the longitudinal members 33 of the gridwork. The tufts are thereupon attached, as by sewing, to the respective Web members, as appears in FIG. 5.

After all of the hair 40 is attached to the gridwork 31 the services of a hair stylist can, if desired, be called upon to cut and style the hair, thereby completing the project.

In a period of approximately four to six weeks epithelium will have formed around the embedded portion of the anchoring members, the epithelial tissue forming a tunnel, as it were, within which the embedded portion of the suture is firmly and comfortably lodged.

As a matter of interest, it is also pointed out that some operators prefer to use a previously woven gridwork (with hair previously attached thereto) in lieu of the abovedescribed arrangement wherein a web is woven, in situ, on the scalp, followed by sewing switches of hair to the web.

In other words, under the alternative procedure just referred to, a previously Woven web has hair secured thereto in any appropriate way, such as by sewing or by applying a plastic coating or dipping the grid and adjacent hair roots in a plastic bath to form an integral hair-bearing member which can be suitably trimmed to the size of the area to be covered and then anchored to a peripherally located series of anchor points. The plastic binding, if used, can be of a color corresponding to the patrons particular skin color.

, It is to be recognized that while the particular process shown and described herein contemplates the use of a continuous, in and out type of suture extending around the margin of a delineated oval area on the scalp, the method of the invention also includes the utilization of discrete, unconnected anchor members, or anchor points, of any suitable variety, arranged around the periphery of the area to be covered. For example, individual sutures can be embedded in the skin, extending if necessary through substantially the entire thickness, i.e. all layers of the skin. These separate sutures can be formed, for example, of any inert, tissue-compatible thread, or wire, and can assume a wide variety of shapes.

It is also possible under conventional surgical techniques to embed a short length of tubing (e.g. of Teflon mater a in the skin with the two ends of the tubing exposed so as to receive anchor points, such as flanged plugs inserted in and cemented to the tube ends, or so as to receive a loop of thread, or wire.

A variant structure comprises an anchor member in the form of a flanged button in the general shape of a collar button but with the lower end of the small button sharpened to a point so that it can be inserted downwardly through the dermal layer and lodged in the subcutaneous layer.

In all the various forms of anchoring members it is desirable that the portion exposed above the scalp be relatively low in profile and devoid of rough projections.

It can, therefore, be seen that the method of the invention is susceptible of numerous variations which provide installations affording reliability and comfort, as well as having an attractive and realistic appearance.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of applying hair to a predetermined portion of a scalp comprising the steps of:

(a) delineating the scalp area to be covered by the hair;

(b) embedding a plurality of anchor members beneath the surface of the scalp in the vicinity of the delineated area;

(c) providing a gridwork by interengaging a plurality of crossing strands and attaching said gridwork to the anchor members to cover the delienated area; and,

(d) attaching a plurality of tufts of hair to the gridwork substantially concealing the subjacent scalp area.

2. A method of applying hair as in claim 1 wherein the step of embedding the plurality of anchor members includes the sub-steps of washing and applying an antiseptic solution to the scalp and of embedding the anchor mem bers in the scalp under aseptic conditions.

3. A method of applying hair as in claim 1 including the step of selecting the anchor members of a material which is compatible with the skin tissue.

4. A method of applying hair as in claim 3 including the further step of styling the hair after attachment of the hair to the gridwork.

5. A method of applying hair as in claim 3 wherein the step of embedding a plurality of anchor members beneath the surface of the scalp comprises the installation of suture formed fastenings adjacent the periphery of the delineated area.

6. A method of applying hair as in claim 5 wherein the fastenings extend at least into the dermal layer of the 'scalp.

7. A method of applying hair as in claim 1 including the steps of fabrictaing the gridwork at a location removed from the scalp and forming the gridwork to be substantially coextensive in size and shape with the delineated area.

8. A method of applying hair as in claim 7 including the further step of coating the gridwork and the portions of hair adjacent the gridwork with a plastic binding material.

9. A method of applying hair to a predetermined portion of a scalp comprising the steps of:

(a) delineating an outline corresponding in size and shape to the scalp area to be covered by the hair,

(b) interengaging a plurality of crossing strands to form a gridwork substantially coextensive in size and shape with the delineated outline;

(c) attaching a plurality of tufts of hair to the gridwork;

(d) embedding a plurality of anchor members below the surface of the scalp in the vicinity of the said scalp area; and,

(e) securing the gridwork with attached hair to the anchor members thereby substantially concealing the subjacent scalp area.

10. A method of applying hair as in claim 9 wherein step (b) is performed on the scalp.

11. A method of applying hair as in claim 9 wherein step (b) is performed at a loctaion remote from the scalp,

6 12. A method of applying hair as in claim 9 wherein References Cited steps (b) and (c) are performed on the scalp. UNITED STATES PATENTS 13. A method of applying hair as in claim 9 wherein I steps (b) and (c) are performed at a location remote f z jg gg g from the scalp. 5 n

14. A method of applying hair as in claim 9 wherein the RICHARD A GAUDET, P i E i step of embedding a plurality of anchor members beneath L PACE Assistant Examiner the surface of the scalp comprises at least in part the installation of suture formed fastenings adjacent the periph- Us (31. X R cry of the delineated area. 10 128-330; 1325 

